Hurstbourne Priors is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Basingstoke and Deane Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England. The main town is Basingstoke, where the council is based. The district also includes the towns of Tadley and Whitchurch, along with numerous vil ...

district of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. Its nearest town is Whitchurch, which lies approximately 1.8 miles (3.1 km) north-east from the village.

Geography

The parish sits astride the

River Test The River Test is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at Ashe near Basingstoke and flows southwards for to Southampton Water. Settlements on the Test include the towns of Stockbridge and Romsey. The river's vall ...

, and a minor tributary, the Bourne Rivulet, runs north to south through the village, paralleling the B3048. The

West of England line The West of England line (also known as the West of England Main Line) is a British railway line from , Hampshire, to in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter; the line intersects with the Wessex Ma ...

runs along the north of the parish, the nearest station is Whitchurch to the east or, slightly further,

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

to the west. The A34 runs through the south-east of the parish with a junction at Tufton.

History

There is evidence of prehistoric

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

pit dwellings in the area. Catherine Conduit, the great-niece of

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...

married Lord Lymington and they lived in the former manor house at Hurstbourne Park, north-east of the village centre, which was described by

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the workin ...

as the "most beautiful park in the south of England". She brought with her a number of Newton's manuscripts and other relics. The house was destroyed by fire in the late 19th century but the collection was saved. The park itself is now Grade II listed on the

National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England {{R from move ...

{{R from move ...

Geography

History

Church

References